A Day Out In Cannes

A Day Out In Cannes

Artlover007

After making several trips into Cannes, one has gotten used to the crowds especially during the World Cup weekend in France. France will be playing South Korea tomorrow so one can understand everyone is trying to finish off their last minute shopping before they stay home to watch the match. The traffic today has been quite bearable; no snarl up at the Rue d'Antibes and even the motorbikers are smiling a bit more than usual.


I have been living on the Côte d'Azur for more than 4 years and have yet to be disappointed during this time of year in June. The weather has been "blue-proof" and the sun shines until 9 in the evening. The temperature guage is rising towards the "inevitable" 30° C. range in August; but NOT just yet! With a bit of sea-breeze in your hair and a pair of 'cool-shades' for your eyes; you are well set for a nice "promenade" along the Croisette.

One of the main things on my shopping list is to look for a couple of 'nice' paintings for the house in Roquefort. Now that I have finished moving the furniture about for the 3rd time in 4 years; I have finally managed to free up a little more white-wall space in the hall and in the lounge for something special. The other day some friends suggested that I should go to Cannes to check out the new Philippe STARCK showroom; but I'm feeling a bit too old for Monsieur STARCK. When I was working for a big fashion house in Hong Kong, I used to live off of his things; and I did enjoy myself many a night in 'Felix' at the top of the Peninsular Hotel admiring his designing prowess. After coming out of the shop/gallery in rue d'Antibes; guess what, yes I'm too old for him!

The crowds in the street seem to be dwindling a little now and I know why; it's lunch time. In France we respect the wonderful custom for food and wine, and many many other nice things in life......! Today, I feel like a nice Chinese meal. My friend Alexandre runs a fantastic restaurant in rue Macé; I wonder what he'll recommend to me today? For the past 4 years I have been searching high and low from Nice to Cannes and back again for a decent dish of 'Singapore noodles' and his is the only decent version that smells and tastes like those you find in Gerard Street in London, at Li Ho Fook & the New World nearby. Well, all right, I should not compare apples with oranges; but one thing encouraging is that the penchant for authentic Chinese food is developing rapidly in France and I will not be surprised to find more entrants into this already crowded 'la cuisine d'Asie' marketplace. Anyway, if you want Singapore Noodles right now, you should go to the following address:-

Le Jardin de Bambou
16 rue Macé
06400 CANNES

Tél: 04 92 98 63 06

The lunch was most satisfying and it was worth every penny of the 80€ bill, for 1 person. Well, I hear what you are thinking; but really I did NOT finish off everything; just the noodles!!! Perhaps, I need to walk up and down the Croisette to lose the few pounds that I've gained; but the sun is still too hot for that. Uh, I know just the place to go for some 'free-loading' of some air-conditioning; yes it's FNAC! It's just round the corner from Le Jardin de Bambou, I think I need to stock up on my weekly supplies of CDs and DVDs. I'm getting the new Shakira 'Oral Fixation 2'; does anyone know what '1' was like?

As I was walking back via rue Macé, I spied this gallery called 'J.P.Art'; and in his shop windows are the most amazing 'mastercopies' I have ever seen. Klimt, Modigliani, Lempicka, Vettriano, Monet, van Gogh, Matisse, Gauguin; the names go on and on...... I promptly went in and started to peruse the walls. Well, I mean, what can you say, this tall handsome Frenchman named Jean Pierre; he has ALL the current 'good-tastes' sewn up! I asked him a few awkward questions like where did his copies come from etc.; but no, the guy is straight and honest, he doesn't do 'Asian' versions and his French authenticated copies are not all that expensive; a 100cm x 100cm Gauguin goes for less than 1.000€; including a nice gilt-frame. I have compared several galleries and I think I have a nice little treasure trove of goodies there. Yes, go to:

Galerie 10 rue Macé 06400 CANNES
Tél: 04 92 99 10 60

Next time, I shall let you know what I have bought from Jean Pierre. He's promised to come to my house to help me hang them up properly, wow, 'Quel service'!